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North East welcomes wind farm announcement

Last week’s announcement of nine new wind farm zones for the UK, including one at Dogger Bank in the North Sea, has been given a warm welcome by business groups in the North East.

The new wind farms will have the capacity to generate enough energy to power more than six million homes and the development will potentially create thousands of jobs.

Mark Stephenson, policy advisor at the North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) said: “This decision comes as really good news for the North East especially as the region is closest to Dogger Bank, the biggest wind farm zone.

“This development presents tremendous opportunities for our region. “It is essential the North East is in a position to exploit this potential to the full.

Sarah Green, Regional Director, CBI North East, said: “This is as exciting step forward for the UK energy’s industry comparable with the exploration of the North Sea for oil and gas in 1970s. “Wind power will play an important role in helping the UK to cut carbon emissions and secure supply, but it needs to be part of a diverse and balanced energy mix that includes nuclear, gas, clean coal and other renewable sources.

George Rafferty, Chief Executive of NOF Energy, which represents over 300 companies in the oil, gas and energy sectors, said: “This is very good news for North East businesses serving the energy sector.

“There is a wealth of skills and experience from the oil and gas supply chain that are transferable to the offshore wind sector.

“This will provide new opportunities for our members and help create some of the 60,000 jobs that are believed will be generated by the development of these offshore turbines.

“We have been working with our members for some time to help them gear up for new energy developments in offshore wind and the nuclear sector as well believe, alongside oil and gas, they will form an important part of the UK’s energy mix.”

There were also some warnings attached to the region’s positive response. Sarah Green said: “Although the development of the UK’s offshore wind market could potentially create huge opportunities, there are a number of supply chain challenges. These include the shortage of skilled engineers, ramping up turbine manufacturing capacity to meet demand, and getting the turbines connected to the grid.”

Mark Stephenson said: “The Government needs to tackle a number of significant challenges to ensure it gets its money-worth out of these new developments.

“Efforts must be made to train the future workforce and equip them with the skills they will need to work in this sector. Infrastructure problems that could prevent us from tapping into this new power must also be addressed as an absolute priority.

“Finally a culture of planning control that can lead to absurd delays in development must be overhauled to ensure that projects such as this run smoothly and realise their promised potential.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .